In the past decade, Kurdish nationalism has begun to evolve dramatically in ways that are affecting both the Middle East and international politics. For example, Kurdish nationalism is profoundly affecting the future of Iraq and therefore the foreign policies of not only the United States but also such regional states as Turkey, Iran, Syria, and Saudi Arabia. All these states see the development of Iraqi Kurdish nationalism as challenging their territorial integrity. Kurdish nationalism is also profoundly influencing Turkey’s candidacy for membership in the European Union (EU). Turkish membership in the EU has major implications for the future of European and international politics.

The purpose of this collection of tightly integrated essays written by recognized experts in the field is to trace systematically the evolution of Kurdish nationalism in Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria to its present stage of geostrategic importance. There is no other work that deals with this current situation. Thus, this work is distinctive and original.

Michael M. Gunter

Michael M. Gunter is a professor of political science at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, Tennessee and teaches during the summers at the Megatrend International University Vienna in Austria. He also teaches for the U.S. government area studies program in Washington, D.C. He is the author of numerous critically praised scholarly books on the Kurdish question, the most recent being Kurdish Historical Dictionary, 2nd ed., 2011; “The Kurds Ascending: The Evolving Solution to the Kurdish Problem in Iraq and Turkey,” 2nd ed., 2011; “The Kurdish Predicament in Iraq: A Political Analysis,” 1999; and “The Kurds and the Future of Turkey,” 1997. In addition, he is the co-editor (with Mohammed M. A. Ahmed) of “The Kurdish Question and the 2003 Iraqi War”, (Mazda Publishers) 2005; and “The Evolution of Kurdish Nationalism,” (Mazda Publishers) 2007. He has also published several other scholarly books and more than 150 scholarly articles on the Kurds, Turkey, Armenians, numerous other topics dealing with the Middle East, United Nations, and other topics in such leading periodicals as the Middle East Journal, Middle East Quarterly, Middle East Policy, Current History, Middle East Critique, Foreignpolicy.com, Third World Quarterly, Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, Orient, Insight Turkey, Worth (Robb Report), American Journal of International Law, World Affairs, Orbis, and International Organization, among others. In addition, he was a Senior Fulbright Lecturer in International Relations in Turkey. He also has held Fulbright awards for China and Israel. Currently he is the secretary-general of the EU Turkey Civic Commission, an NGO working within the European Union Parliament to promote further democratization in Turkey to facilitate its accession to the EU. He has been interviewed about the Kurdish question and the Middle East on numerous occasions by the international and national press.

Mohammed M.A. Ahmed

Dr. Mohammed M. A. Ahmed is the Executive Director and founder of the Ahmed Foundation for Kurdish Studies, a non-profit and non-partisan organization. He has published numerous articles, co-edited four books with Professor Michael Gunter, and authored two books: "The Kurds, Shiites and Sunni Arabs Compete for Supremacy” in Iraq and the “Iraqi Kurds and Nation-Building.” Dr. Ahmed has lectured at the University of Baghdad and worked for the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, U.N. Economic and Social Commission for West Asia (ESCWA) in Beirut and the U.N. Department for Technical Cooperation in New York. He holds M.S. and PhD in Agricultural Economics.

Preface by Robert Olson Introduction Maps CHAPTER 1:The Modern Origins of Kurdish Nationalism Michael M. Gunter CHAPTER 2: The Impact of Islam on Kurdish Identity Formation in the Middle East Hakan Ozoglu CHAPTER 3: Kurdish Nationalism Under the Kemalist Republic: Some Hypotheses Hamit Bozarslan CHAPTER 4: Silence and Voice: Turkish Policies and Kurdish Resistance in the Mid-20th Century Nicole Watts CHAPTER 5: The Resurgence of Kurdish Nationalism in Northern Kurdistan-Turkey from the 1970s to Present Michael Bishku CHAPTER 6: The Tortured Resurgence of Kurdish Nationalism in Iraq, 1975-1991 Gareth Stansfield and Shorsh Haji Resool CHAPTER 7: The Role of Political Parties in Developing Kurdish Nationalism Liam Anderson CHAPTER 8: Laying the Foundation for a Kurdistani State in Iraq, 1991-2006 Mohammed M.A. Ahmed CHAPTER 9: Kurdish Nationalism, Capitalism, and State Formation in Kurdistan-Iraq Robert Olson CHAPTER 10: The Kurdish Republic in Mahabad: Formation of a National Movement Farideh Koohi-Kamali CHAPTER 11: The Kurdish National Movement in Iran Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979 Nader Entessar CHAPTER 12: Iran and Kurdistan: A Studied Ambiguity William O. Beeman CHAPTER 13: Kurdish Nationalism in Syria Robert Lowe